 After the roll call, Mayor Keith Snyder asked that everyone in the
chamber observe a moment of silence in memory of George Dahmm and
Ernie Edwards, both of whom died in the week since the last council
meeting.Following the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, Snyder
read a brief thank-you note from Dr. Steven Kottemann for the letter
of appreciation written and signed by all the aldermen at his
retirement.
Next, Snyder said that Wanda Lee Rohlfs of Main Street Lincoln
was present to address the council.
Rohlfs said she had stopped by the council meeting to update
aldermen on some of the activities Main Street will host in the next
few months.
She began with the Grand March the evening of May 5. Rohlfs said
that in addition to prom attendees taking their annual walk down the
south steps of the Logan County Courthouse, local businesses will
also have some special events.
She said there will be "red carpet sales" at some stores, and
professional photographer Jennifer Brickey will do some special
photographs.
On May 12, Main Street will observe National Train Day at the
Amtrak depot. Main Street volunteers and others who wish to attend
should be at the station at 6:45 a.m. The first train is set to
arrive at 7 a.m. Those getting on and off at the Lincoln stop will
be treated to fresh doughnuts, goodie bags, stickers and information
on the history of trains.
She said there is also going to be a drawing this year. There
will be a hat with tickets inside, marked with "0" or a "1." Folks
who draw a "0" will be given a quarter; those who draw a "1" will be
given a dollar.
May is National Historic Preservation Month. In observance, Main
Street will give special recognition to a century-old building in
downtown Lincoln: the Edward Madigan Post Office.
Rohlfs said the construction of the post office began in 1910 and
was completed in 1912. As a point of interest, she said the way the
federal government monitored progress of construction sites in those
days was through photographs. During the construction of the post
office, a photo was taken once a month, and the post office has
copies of those photos.
Rohlfs said special news releases about the post office will be
sent out during May.
In addition, this year's city Christmas ornament will depict the
post office, and the mail theme will be used in the Christmas parade
as well.
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On June 30 there will be a special celebration of the post
office, and Rohlfs said the annual Christmas ornament will be
available for sale then. This date also coincides with the annual
Honest Abe's Barbeque Cook Off.
Another event on that date will be an art auction hosted by the
Lincoln Art Institute.
The Main Street Lincoln organization is working on a new brochure
about the downtown area, but they've run into a bit of a snag.
Rohlfs said when they started comparing information they had on
local buildings with a book written by local historian Paul Gleason,
they found some discrepancies. She said they are working on getting
the correct the dates when buildings were constructed.
She also noted they are having trouble finding information on one
building in particular. The current location of Abe's Carmelcorn
Shoppe on North Kickapoo was built as the Lincoln Knights of
Columbus Hall. Rohlfs said it is believed the building was
constructed in 1910. She's hoping someone will have information
about the building and even pictures of it when it was the Knights
of Columbus.
May 20-26 is National Small Business Week. Rohlfs said Main
Street is planning a breakfast to take place during that week, but
the date has not yet been set.
Rohlfs also mentioned the Railsplitter Antique Auto Club Cruise
for St. Jude's will be on June 23.
Finally, Rohlfs said she is planning one out-of-town trip in the
near future. There is an annual Illinois Tourism Day in Chicago each
spring. It is a day trip, when Rohlfs usually takes the train to
Chicago, spends the day at a booth promoting Lincoln as a great
place to visit and returns home that same day.
Before leaving the meeting, Rohlfs said that in the future she
would ask for street closures for some of the events planned, and
that Main Street provided an annual certificate of insurance to the
city for the organization's activities.
[By NILA SMITH] |
